Israel and Hamas hold talks on Gaza Ceasefire in Egypt

Israel and Hamas began indirect talks in Egypt on Monday. Raising hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week.

The talks come two years after the Hamas attack that started the war. President Donald Trump welcomed Hamas’ agreement to parts of U.S. peace plan. Israel also supported the effort. Under the plan Hamas will release the remaining 48 hostages within three days. Give up power and hand over its weapons. 20 hostages are believed to be alive.

Netanyahu’s office said Israeli negotiator Ron Dermer would lead the delegation to Sharm el-Sheikh. An Egyptian official said Hamas’ team had already arrived, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff would join the discussions. Egypt’s foreign ministry said the talks would focus on exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this was “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released.” Speaking on ABC’s This Week, he explained that the U.S. plan had two steps first, the hostages would be freed, and second, Israel would pull back to the “yellow line,” position in Gaza in August. He added ‘bombing should stop to allow the hostages to be released safely.’

Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper that if Hamas stayed in power, there would be “complete obliteration.” He said Netanyahu supported ending the bombing and achieving peace in Gaza “soon on the rest.”

Israeli spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian said Netanyahu is in “regular contact” with Trump and that the Egypt talks “will be confined to a few days maximum.” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel was “closest to a hostage deal since the ceasefire in January.”

Families of hostages gathered outside Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, urging Trump to keep pushing for a deal. “We cannot allow such a historic agreement to be sacrificed again,” said Michel Ilouz, whose son Guy is among the hostages.

Across Europe and other regions, hundreds of thousands marched for Palestinians. Eight Muslim-majority countries released a joint statement supporting the ceasefire talks and the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. They also called for Gaza and the West Bank to be united and for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza.

Rubio said discussions about who will govern Gaza could happen alongside the ceasefire. “That’s what will make peace last,” he said.

Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza, but residents and hospitals said strikes continued. Badrosian confirmed that “some bombings have actually stopped,” while Israel’s military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned, “If the political effort does not succeed, we will return to fight.”

At least eight people were killed Sunday in airstrikes in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital. Four others were shot near an aid site in Rafah. Israel’s army said it was not involved. Doctors Without Borders said one of its workers, Abed El Hameed Qaradaya, died after being wounded in a strike that also killed a colleague.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 67,139 people have been killed and nearly 170,000 injured since the war began. About half of the dead are women and children, the ministry said.

Israel’s army said it is still targeting Hamas fighters and warned people not to return to northern Gaza. “We’re on the brink, and we don’t know whether we’ll die from a strike or starvation,” said Mahmoud Hashem, a father living in a tent in Gaza City.

Amid ongoing conflict and displacement, aid groups noted the logistical challenges of moving supplies and essentials. Many volunteers used durable gear like the 5.11 Tactical Duffel Bag Backpack for Travel, Waterproof, Large Rush LBD Lima 56L, designed to withstand harsh conditions a small symbol of endurance in a region struggling for relief.